It was the day the A55 came to a standstill, now twelve months on we look back on that terrible day of weather

A family who lost all their possessions in a devastating flood are still unable to return home one year later.

An insurance wrangle means Gwynedd councillor Aeron Jones, his partner Caryl and three daughters won’t be able to live in their house in Llanwnda, near Caernarfon until next March. Instead they are staying in a rented property.

Today is the anniversary of that flooding when the A55
between Bangor and Conwy Tunnel shut in both directions as torrents of water and several feet of floodwater meant it was unsafe to travel.

Roads on Anglesey were closed and ambulances were unable to reach Ysbyty Gwynedd
in Bangor.

At the time, then chief executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr health board Mary Burrows told the Welsh Government: “The west became virtually isolated. The only other road, the A5, which was accessible many hours later, is a single road that became completely overloaded with lorries. It was extremely difficult for ambulances to get to Ysbyty Gwynedd in any reasonable time.”

Train services between Llandudno Junction
and Holyhead were delayed and cancelled and a multi-agency taskforce made up of police, fire and rescue, ambulance and trunk road described it as “an emergency”.

Last night, practice manager Donna Hughes at the doctors’ surgery at Cae Heti said: “You will never forget. When I hear the rain, I say: ‘Oh no’ It was a nightmare. There was filth coming from below the floors. The stench was horrible the next morning. The plaster had to be hacked off and dried out with humidifiers in all the rooms. We didn’t have telephone connections and had lots of problems. We used Portacabins at Deiniolen and Llanrug as makeshift surgeries for our 5,800 patients and could not return for another four months.”

Llanberis Cllr Trevor Edwards said: “We’ll never forget that day. People were phoning all day and my mother had to be moved to a home which didn’t help her. People are worried it could happen again – it is always in the back of your mind.”

Cllr Edwards said Gwynedd Council now monitor the river levels regularly.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Following the November 2012 flooding near Talybont, Bangor, £640,000 was immediately spent on maintenance measures on the A55 drainage system on the westbound approach to J11, part of the £3m announced to improve the trunk road network in North Wales.”

The A55 at Talybont, A5 at Bethesda and Ogwen Valley and A499 at Clynnog Fawr and A4086 at Llanberis were all closed due to flooding.

The worst floods in a generation to hit Gwynedd and Anglesey engulfed properties and roads and there was local flooding in Conwy and Flintshire.

Adam Williams from Llanfairfechan told the Daily Post from his car on the A55: “The rain is absolutely horrendous. There is one car stuck in the dip between the Talybont turn off and the ‘One stop’ turn off at Bangor. The water is so deep it has almost reached the roof.”

Cherie Jones, 22, from Llandudno and friend Hannah Williams, 24, from Llandudno Junction were stuck for three hours. They were on their way back to Llandudno after being shopping in Bangor when they got stuck.

Police told them to head into Bangor and “find somewhere to stay for the night.”

Cherie said: “We’re soaking and freezing. The water is up to the bonnet. One car has gone under. There’s huge tailbacks. We were supposed to pick up Hannah’s little boy from school in Deganwy. We had to send somebody else and give the school a safe password.”

Firefighters were called to try and pump the water from the A55 carriageway near Abergwyngregyn. Llanfairfechan was described as “a no go area”.

Motorist Barrie Durkin, travelling from Llandudno back home to Abergwyngregyn, said the A55 was like a “canal” at Aber and police turned him and other drivers back.

He said: “The authorities have failed to alleviate the flooding problem and should put in proper drains to take floodwater to the sea, which is only over the wall.”

Plumber Clive Griffith, of Waunfawr, had to leave his van at Betws Garmon near Caernarfon after a landslide blocked the road. He was rescued by his partner in a 4x4.

He said: “The water was like a river. There was a Vauxhall Vectra stuck on top of the landslide after a wall and rubble collapsed on the road.”

On Anglesey, The B5102 between Beaumaris and Pentraeth was closed due to flooding. Council staff had to assess the condition of the coast road from Menai Bridge to Beaumaris.

Ysgol Llanfechell was closed due to flooding and children sent home early. Firefighters were called to floods in Amlwch, Rhosybol, Llannerchymedd and Pentraeth.

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The Editor

Mark Thomas

Liverpool-born Mark joined the Daily Post in January 2014 after seven years as editor of its Merseyside sister title the Liverpool Post. He started out as a weekly news reporter on Wirral Newspapers, and spent seven years at the Daily Post and Liverpool Echo. He was The Press Association's regional correspondent for North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire from 1983 to 1997, before returning to the ECHO as deputy news editor. He has won a number of journalism awards, including the UK Press Gazzette Regional Reporter of the Year award, and in 1993 wrote a book on the James Bulger murder.